Author: Adejuyigbe Francis

The National Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Mahmood Yakubu, on Friday said Bayelsa, Imo, and Kogi states are the most difficult places to conduct elections. Yakubu said the difficult terrain and insecurity caused by political actors in the states make it difficult to conduct elections in the areas. He spoke at a meeting of the Inter-agency Consultative Committee on Election Security in Abuja. Yakubu also urged security agencies to tackle those behind insecurity and ensure the protection of lives during elections. He said, “The three states of Bayelsa, Imo and Kogi are not the easiest states in…

The National Assembly Election Petition Tribunal in Sokoto State, on Friday, dismissed the petition against the elections of Senator Aliyu Wamakko (APC-Sokoto North). In a unanimous judgement read by the tribunal chairperson, Justice Josephine Oyefeso, on behalf of Justices Haruna Muhammad and Eke Eze, upheld the election and dismissed the petition for lack of merit. Oyefeso said the petitioner were unable to prove the allegations contained in the petitions beyond reasonable doubts as required by law. She said the burden of proving a petition solely relied on the petitioners adding that the witnesses and exhibits presented were not tangible enough to contradict the electoral…

A woeful international season for Nigerian club Enyimba ended on Thursday with a 3-0 hiding at Wydad Casablanca of Morocco in the inaugural African Football League (AFL). Defenders Ayoub el Amloud, Jamal Harkass and Yahia Attiyat Allah scored before half-time as Wydad completed a 4-0 overall triumph having won the quarter-final first leg 1-0 last Sunday. Enyimba, the only Nigerian team to win the CAF Champions League, had high hopes of making an impact this season with former stars Nwankwo Kanu and Finidi George in key positions. Kanu is the chairman and George the coach of a club based in…

The House of Representatives has summoned singer Azeez Fashola, who goes by the stage name Naira Marley, to appear before it. This comes as part of efforts to address concerns surrounding the works of the late singer, Ilerioluwa Aloba, popularly known as Mohbad and ensure that his rights are upheld. The House, through its Committee on Justice, Youth, and Legislative Compliance, also invited Jiggy Adeoye, Mohbad’s manager. The invitation to Mohbad’s manager is to enable the lawmakers to have an interactive session scheduled for Oct 3. This comes as a bold step towards securing a proper compensation and royalties for…

The Africa Private Sector Summit (APSS) has appointed a former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Presidential Candidate, Professor Kingsley Moghalu, as the chairman of its board of directors. Moghalu’s appointment was made known in a statement by the founder and outgoing Chairman of APSS, Judson Wendell Addy. Wendell Add said Moghalu’s “international leadership experience, credibility, and networks will help advance the goals of APSS, as we proceed with the roll-out of the draft charter on private sector development, rights and protection of the environment in Africa [Private Sector Bill of Rights], across all of Africa’s five…

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has celebrated the life and legacy of the late patriarch of the Tinubu family, Alhaji Kafaru Oluwole Tinubu (CP Rtd), on the 20th anniversary of his passing. The president, in a statement on Thursday by his spokesman, Ajuri Ngelale, extolled the sterling qualities of the late patriarch, who was a distinguished public servant, lawyer, administrator and philanthropist. “Baba was the finest of men. He was an honourable man; he was noble. He believed in defending the weak against the strong and standing for what is just even at the cost of personal liberty. He was my…

The Labour Party (LP) Presidential Campaign Council spokesman, Yunusa Tanko, has said the party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, would make pronouncements on his political future soon. Tanko made this known while reacting to the apex court sitting in Abuja on Thursday, which dismissed the petitions filed by Peter Obi and his Peoples Democratic Party counterpart, Atiku Abubakar, against the election of President Bola Tinubu in the February 25 presidential poll. Speaking on the court judgement, the spokesman lamented that the Supreme Court turned deaf ears to the several pleas made by the party, and they are resorting to the masses’…

Brighton secured their first win in Europe, completely outplaying fallen giants Ajax in a 2-0 victory on a famous night at the Amex Stadium in the UEFA Europa League. The visitors are four-time European champions, but are in a rut right now, down in the relegation zone in the Eredivisie and without a permanent manager. Brighton compounded Ajax’s woes with a controlled and impressive display that belied The Seagulls’ own troubles of a mounting injury list. Brighton struggled to turn thei possession into chances in a one-sided first-half, but finally took the lead when Kaoru Mitoma’s shot was saved back…

Darwin Nunez and Mo Salah were among those on target as Liverpool made it three wins from three in UEFA Europa League Group E courtesy of a thumping 5-1 victory over Toulouse at Anfield. Jurgen Klopp made eight changes from the side that eased past Everton in the Merseyside derby, but it mattered little as they proved too strong for last season’s French Cup winners. Diogo Jota opened the scoring when he was allowed to surge through the centre of the visiting defence and coolly fire home on nine minutes. Toulouse briefly stunned Anfield just seven minutes later when Thijs…

The Ekiti State Government has approved the disbursement of another tranche of car loans to the tune of N136,260,000 for 368 civil servants. This was disclosed by Commissioner for Finance and Economic Development Akin Oyebode, who confirmed that Governor Biodun Oyebanji approved the injection of N200 million into the loan scheme. Oyebode disclosed that the governor also approved the payment of N174,394,176.88 in outstanding deductions from salaries to cooperative societies and the Federal Mortgage Bank. According to him, sums ranging from N80,000 to N1.5 million will be disbursed to the beneficiaries of the loan scheme, depending on their grade levels.…

The Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Abdullahi Ganduje, has said the judgement of the Supreme Court affirming the victory of President Bola Tinubu is a proof that the February 25 presidential election was not manipulated. Ganduje stated this in a statement released through his Chief Press Secretary, Edwin Olofu, on Thursday. The former Governor of Kano State called on presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and is counterpart in the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi to wait till 2031 when Tinubu would have rounded off his second term. Ganduje, who congratulated Tinubu, said the judgement has laid…

Former President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday said Nigeria deserves a break after a tortuous eight months of expensive legal journey. Buhari, in a statement by his spokesman, Malam Garba Shehu, urged the opposition to take the hand of fellowship extended by the Tinubu/Shettima APC government, having exhausted their rights as constitutionally allowed. He advised them to allow the government to run their administration and the people to have the benefit of the promises the All Progressives Congress (APC) made. Buhari said the decision to dismiss the appeals by Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and Mr. Peter…